FILE THIS OPINION WAS FILED FOR RECORD AT 8 A.M. ON IN CLERK’S OFFICE NOVEMBER 5, 2020 SUPREME COURT, STATE OF WASHINGTON NOVEMBER 5, 2020 SUSAN L. CARLSON SUPREME COURT CLERK IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON JOSE MARTINEZ-CUEVAS and ) PATRICIA AGUILAR, individually and on ) No. 96267-7 behalf of all others similarly situated, ) ) Petitioners, ) ) v. ) ) DERUYTER BROTHERS DAIRY, INC., ) GENEVA S. DERUYTER, and JACOBUS N. ) DERUYTER, ) En Banc ) Respondents, ) ) and ) ) WASHINGTON STATE DAIRY ) FEDERATION and WASHINGTON FARM ) BUREAU, ) ) Filed: November 5, 2020 Intervenor-Respondents. ) ________________________________________) MADSEN, J.—This case concerns the constitutionality of RCW 49.46.130(2)(g), the provision exempting agricultural workers from the overtime pay requirement set out in the Washington Minimum Wage Act, ch. 49.46 RCW. At issue here is whether the No. 96267-7 trial court properly granted partial summary judgment to an affected class of agricultural workers who argued that the exemption violates article I, section 12 of our state constitution and the equal protection clause. For the following reasons, we affirm as to article I, section 12. BACKGROUND Jose Martinez-Cuevas and Patricia Aguilar worked for DeRuyter Brothers Dairy as milkers. DeRuyter milkers used mechanized equipment to milk close to 3,000 cows per shift, 24 hours a day, three shifts a day, 7 days a week. In 2016, Martinez-Cuevas and Aguilar filed the present class action suit along with about 300 fellow DeRuyter dairy workers. The amended complaint claimed that DeRuyter failed to pay minimum wage to dairy workers, did not provide adequate rest and meal breaks, failed to compensate pre- and post-shift duties, and failed to pay overtime. The complaint also sought a judgment declaring RCW 49.46.130(2)(g) 1 unconstitutional. The parties eventually reached a class settlement resolving all but the overtime pay claims. The trial court approved the settlement. The parties stipulated to class certification of the remaining claims. In February 2018, the trial court permitted the Washington State Dairy Federation and Washington Farm Bureau to intervene as defendants. 1 RCW 49.46.130(1) requires employers to compensate employees for work in excess of 40 hours. Subsection (2)(g) exempts certain employees, such as individuals employed on farms, from receiving this compensation. 2 No. 96267-7 Martinez-Cuevas and Aguilar moved for summary judgment. They alleged that class members generally worked over 40 hours per week without receiving overtime pay and labored in dangerous conditions. The workers claimed that the agricultural industry was powerful while the agricultural workers were poor, and the exemption was racially motivated to impact the Latinx population, which constitutes nearly 100 percent of Washington dairy workers. Consequently, the workers argued, the agricultural exemption for overtime pay violates article I, section 12 of the Washington State Constitution because it grants a privilege or immunity to the agricultural industry pursuant to a law implicating a fundamental right of state citizenship—the right of all workers in dangerous industries to receive workplace health and safety protections. The workers further argued that ...
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